Techniques for taming stress effects on the heart

May 18, 2016

IN THE NEWS: The CBS2 news series on defeating stress features an in-studio chat with Dr. Shaista Malik and news anchors Paul Magers and Pat Harvey. Malik, a UC Irvine Health cardiologist and director of the Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine, describes the benefits of alternative treatments in helping to relieve the physiological effects of stress on the heart.

Malik says the scientific evidence proving the effectiveness of Eastern practices such as yoga, tai chi, meditation and acupuncture for managing stress continues to grow, especially in chronic conditions, like blood pressure.

“The Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine did a very interesting study of acupuncture,” Malik said. “Just 30 minutes, once a week for eight weeks, caused a decrease of eight to 16 points in blood pressure. That’s very comparable to medication.”